[Advising] Honors College Communique - September

HONORS COLLEGE COMMUNIQUE: September 2026   Hello from Honors College! In partnership with Academic Advising, we are sending a monthly Honors College Communique on the Advising listserv, in which we will send updates about:     1. Honors news, updates, and advising information 1. Honors opportunities open to all students 1. Contacts within Honors for more information Honors News: New Honors Counselors! Please help us welcome our 2 new Honors Counselors, Asha Pool, who is on the main campus, and our downtown counselor, Michael Corrales. We now have a downtown office space in San Pedro II (SPII)- 2nd Floor USAA Student Success Center (#250). Honors Updates: Experiential Learning Fair (ELF)- The Fall 2026 Honors ELF will be on Wednesday, November 18th. Presentation times are 11:30-12:30 and 2:30-3:30, in the HEB Student Union Ballroom. The event is open to the public, so we invite you to stop by and check out the student presentations! More information is on the website: Experiential Learning Fair | Honors College | UT San Antonio<https://honors.utsa.edu/academics/elf/> A Call for Judges - We are currently looking for judges to assist with the Experiential Learning Fair (ELF). It will take no more than 1.5 hours of your time and training is provided. Faculty, staff, and community members are all invited to participate as judges. Interested? Please be on the lookout for the RSVP form in October. Questions? Email us at honors@utsa.edu<mailto:honors@utsa.edu>. Honors Academics: Honors Pathways The Honors College has multiple pathways and college programs. College programs include ACOB, COS, COLFA, plus HCAP and CAICC that launched this fall. Pathways include Athletics, ROTC, and two health professions programs, BSMS and Nursing. Honors has agreements with each of these to align curricular, experiential, and co-curricular activities, all of which provide enriched mentoring, resources, experiential learning opportunities, and more! If you or your students have questions, please contact the Honors Academic Counselors at honors.advising@utsa.edu<mailto:honors.advising@utsa.edu>. Honors Thesis The Honors curriculum has multiple pathways to account for students doing thesis. College/Department thesis are overseen by the respective discipline unit, but these do count towards the Experiences in the Honors curriculum. Students interested in completing an Honors Thesis (HON 4993 or HON 3310 Intellectual Achievement and Research) should contact Dr. Aguilar at Hector.Aguilar@utsa.edu<mailto:Hector.Aguilar@utsa.edu> or honors.advising@utsa.edu<mailto:honors.advising@utsa.edu>. Honors College and CPOS: What You Need to Know Students can pursue Honors without affecting CPOS or delaying graduation. In fact, the entire Honors curriculum can be completed with just 1 additional credit hour, possibly no additional credit hours. And, the HON seminars are not required. * Only 4 required Honors courses: * HON 1000 (0 credit, 8-week, online) * *HON 2301 (1 credit, 8-week, online) * *Honors CSH 1213 (core curriculum course) * Honors WRC 1023 (core curriculum course; waived with prior credit) * The rest of the curriculum is experience-based, allowing flexibility through courses or co-curricular activities. See Experiences options below. * *Flexibility in the curriculum includes approved substitution options for HON 2301 and Honors CSH 1213. Honors Experiences, the second half of the curriculum, can be completed via a number of methods. * Taking HON course. We have a number of great, specialized Honors seminars<https://honors.utsa.edu/academics/courses.html>;, with cool topics. * Taking Honors sections of other discipline courses. * Completing an Honors contract<https://honors.utsa.edu/academics/requirements/contracts.html>;. This is where students contract a non-H course they are already taking & earn Honors credit through specialized assignment agreements. * Some courses in the degree automatically count for Honors credit. For example, independent study, research, internship, graduate courses, etc. * Some courses also have an Honors attribute on them, but they are not limited to just Honors students (ex: SOSA, MUS 3801). The Honors attribute does not restrict enrollment to just Honors students but instead captures Honors students enrolled in them to apply them in the Honors curriculum. * Activities outside the classroom. These can be any activity students are doing outside the classroom. This can include things like holding a job, earning a certification, being part of an intramural team, working out, learning a new skill, being an active member of a student organization, etc. * Outside the classroom experiences must be submitted via our form, and approved experiences are enrolled in zero-credit courses. These are not actual courses, just experience-based credits. More information is on our website<https://honors.utsa.edu/academics/exp-spices/experience-approv...;. Honors Opportunities for All Students: Gilman Scholarship – UTSA has a record number of students receiving the Gilman Scholarship! The Gilman is open to all eligible UTSA students, who are Pell Grant recipients. It awards them up to $5000 to study abroad. Check out the article, featured in UTSA Today: https://www.utsa.edu/today/2025/06/story/roadrunners-receive-gilman-schol... Learn more about the Gilman Scholarship here: https://honors.utsa.edu/onca/awards/gilman.html Citymester - The 2027 applications open soon. Immerse yourself in an experience like no other this summer! This program includes a Professional Internship, Community Service, and Engagement with Community Leaders. With Citymester, the city is your classroom. Learn more during an upcoming information sessions and apply by the deadline. Applications open the week of September 21st. Priority application deadline is November 15th. Final Deadline: 11:59 pm, January 15th, 2027. Questions? email HonorsSpecialPrograms@utsa.edu<mailto:HonorsSpecialPrograms@utsa.edu>. * Tuesday, September 22, 11a-12p - Student Union 2.01.24 - Mesquite * Thursday, September 24, 4-5p – virtual | https://utsa.zoom.us/j/93911913444 * Friday, October 9, 12-1p – GSR 1.204F * Wednesday, October 21, 4-5p – Student Union 2.02.12 - Willow * Thursday, October 29, 5:30-6:30p – virtual | https://utsa.zoom.us/j/96884276262 * Wednesday, November 18, 12-1p – GSR 1.204F * Friday, January 8, 12-1p – GSR 1.204F Best Regards, Honors Advising Honors email: honors@utsa.edu<mailto:honors@utsa.edu> Honors advising email: honors.advising@utsa.edu<mailto:honors.advising@utsa.edu> Honors website: https://honors.utsa.edu/ Honors Experiential Learning Lab: https://honors.utsa.edu/academics/experiential-learning-lab.html